Shampoo to combat grey hair
At some point it affects everyone: grey hairs initially grow individually, then more and more until they finally cover our whole head. The cause of grey hair is that for various reasons the hair roots are no longer capable of providing sufficient melanin, the hair’s colour pigment. The result is grey hair. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to combat this process with a shampoo during a completely normal hair-washing process?
The good news is that this exists. However, its effect principle works on existing hair as pigments mixed into the shampoo adhere to the spaces between the horny scales of the cuticle. What initially sounds like a colour isn’t in fact one. When you colour the hair, this occurs via a chemical change to the internal structure of the hair. On the other hand, shampoos that combat grey hair externally coat the hair with pigments, similar to tints. Daily application results in a uniform colour build-up or maintenance.
If you’ve already accepted your grey hair, there are special conditioning shampoos. These combat grey hair’s yellow tinge. This yellow occurs due to the remaining colour pigments in hair that has turned mostly grey. These shampoos contain blue or lilac pigments to neutralise the yellow tinge and condition the grey.
Consequently, shampoo to combat and/or condition grey hair can help to conceal it or reduce its yellow tinge. However, they cannot maintain the natural hair colour as they supply the existing hair with colour pigments, and don’t take effect where it is produced at the roots, so none of the body’s own melanin is deposited in the hair. But what would be necessary to maintain the natural hair colour?
How is your natural hair colour formed?
The natural hair colour is defined by melanin. Melanin is a colour pigment formed by the body, which – depending on the composition of the pigments – can range from yellowish to brown to black. The individual composition of these pigments is genetically defined, and thus gives us our hair colour before external influences such as UV radiation or chemical hair dyes can influence this.
In the hair follicles there are melanocytes which are responsible for incorporating the melanin in the hair’s keratin. If this process is disturbed, for example because no melanin is available, air bubbles fill this space, which the eye perceives as white or grey. As we age, these disturbances increase and, consequently, so does our amount of grey hair.
Why does our hair turn grey as we get older?
Our body is always exposed to influences that negatively affect our metabolism. This can be an imbalanced diet that lastingly or temporarily leads to a deficit of all vital nutrients in the body. And not just nutritional deficiencies, such as vitamins, mineral substances and proteins, can cause damage. The wrong substances can also additionally stress the body. This includes various causes, particularly nicotine, alcohol and also medications. Stress and illnesses can also disturb the sensitive balance of the metabolism. Furthermore, individual genetics have a decisive effect on our metabolism.
If there is a problem with the metabolism, the enzyme catalase can no longer be sufficiently produced. Its job is to break down the metabolic by-product hydrogen peroxide in the cells. Hydrogen peroxide, on the other hand, attacks the enzyme tyrosinase, which plays a decisive role in the formation of the colour pigment melanin. And without melanin, as described above, the hair turns grey. So, if you want to break this devastating process chain, it’s best to start at the beginning and ensure a healthy metabolism throughout the whole body, particularly the scalp.
Consequently, the body is able to help itself to naturally break down hydrogen peroxide, and provide the melanocytes with melanin.
How do I support my metabolism in the battle against grey hair?
To ideally support the functioning of the hair roots to produce healthy and strong hair in the natural hair colour, the necessary foundation is a healthy metabolism. This refers to the whole body because if the whole body isn’t healthy, a local treatment application won’t promise any success. Avoid stress and eat a balanced, fibre- and alkaline diet, for example lots of fruit and vegetables, wholegrain products, potatoes, herbs, fish and meat.
And even as a vegetarian you should still make sure to consume high-quality proteins. In this case, opt for pulses such as lentils and beans, nuts, tofu and eggs. Make sure to eat a varied and colourful diet to always ensure a sufficient supply of vitamins and minerals.
This will prevent your body being impacted by oxidative stress. This is defined by the metabolism no longer being capable of breaking down oxidants (also known as free radicals) such as hydrogen peroxide. These free radicals damage the overall cell structure, and are largely responsible for the aging process. So make sure you consume sufficient antioxidants in order to maintain the balance. You will find these in vegetables, salads, herbs, fruits and nuts.
How can you lastingly combat grey hair?
A generally healthy and well-functioning metabolism is the foundation for a long-lasting natural hair colour. But there are many factors that negatively affect our healthy and metabolism, if only slightly. So, to ideally support the scalp and hair follicles, a perfect supply of all vital nutrients is necessary. This is the only way cells are capable of freeing themselves from damaging by-products such as hydrogen peroxide, and providing melanin.
As shampoos to combat grey hair only work by adding pigments, they don’t help with the body’s own melanin production, and merely conceal hair that has already turned grey. The hair lotion Anti-Grey Elixir by La Biosthétique, on the other hand, is ideal for this: the natural ingredients supply the scalp with the nutrients it needs for a healthy metabolism. Consequently, you reduce oxidative stress, which promotes cell aging and causes grey hair – and maintain the production of the natural colour pigments in the hair roots.
